A human-size robot balancing on a ball that acts as a spherical wheel can push wheelchairs as smoothly as a human assistant - and may carry out this caregiving task better than many humanoid robot helpers that walk on two legs.
The so-called ballbot was first developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania in 2004. In its latest form, it has the capability to manoeuvre a wheelchair indoors with minimal bumpiness for the wheelchair user. As such, it shows how robots could someday help some of the many people who may require a wheelchair - which might include about 10 per cent of the world’s population according to the WHO.
Video courtesy of Carnegie Mellon University
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